Coast

Come summer, we tend to loosen our definition of “weekend.” Shoot, lots of workplaces do the same, ceding employees a half-day head start on Fridays, knowing full well lots of us will be slinking off anyway.

That said, a great way to spend the Friday part of your summer weekend is on a guided canoe tour at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge between Columbia and Manteo. Every Friday afternoon from 1-4 p.m. between now and August, the refuge will lead two-hour tours, all equipment provided, on Milltail Creek, taking you “deep into the heart of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Paddle the shady blackwater canals; learn about the history of the area. Watch and listen for the Refuge’s secretive wildlife.” We can’t guarantee a gator sighting, but in hot weather odds are good you’ll spot one lolling along the banks.

You bring a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent and water, the NWR provides the canoe, paddle, pfd and wisdom.

Logistics: Fridays from now through August, 1-4 p.m., Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, off U.S. 64 between Columbia and Manteo. $40 for adults, $25 for kids 12 and under. Meets at the end of Buffalo City Road off US 64 west of Manns Harbor. Call 252.216.9464.

Friday forecast: Sunny, high of 85.

* * *

Looking ahead: Let’s look way ahead to an event that always sneaks up on us, Wings Over Water. This six-day celebration of the coastal wild includes all sorts of programs, from canoe and kayak trips, to birding expeditions, to talks about nature and more. This year’s Wings is Oct. 20-25. For more information, go here.

Piedmont

Perusing the North Carolina Running Calendar, a pretty comprehensive account of the Tarheel race scene, we were stopped by one entry in particular: The Wilson Swamp Stomp. This year’s Stomp, the third annual, pledges to spend more time in the swamp, ensuring its spot in our weekly recommendations.

Held at Gillette and Toisnot parks in Wilson, the Stomp includes 5K and 8K versions, and, say race organizers, “Both courses are 65% in the woods or swamp.” They’ve even thrown in a few obstacles for those who don’t find running in a swamp challenge enough.

Awards, prizes, hoses at the end for contestants to tidy up. All proceeds benefit Hope Station, Wilson’s food pantry and homeless shelter.

Logistics: Saturday, June 13, waves of runners are sent off every 15 minutes between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sign up by the end of today and it’s $65 for the 5K, $75 for the 8K; register race day and it’s $75 and $85. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with a high of 95, perfect swamp running weather.

* * *

Looking ahead: Citizen science: you probably associate it with annual events such as the Christmas Bird Count and the Great Backyard Bird Count. But it happens every Saturday at the N.C. Museum of Natural Science’s Prairie Ridge EcoStation in Raleigh. A different project every week in which you — and your kids — can help make a difference. Learn more about the program here.

Mountains

Last Saturday was National Trails Day, this Saturday is National Get Outdoors Day. Mission of the latter: “… reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors.” Missions that mesh with our own.

Get Outdoors Day events are planned at more than 200 locations across the country,  including four in North Carolina. One of the four is Chimney Rock State Park, where from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. they’ll be doing all sorts of NGOD activities. According to the park’s synopsis: “See live critters, learn how to responsibly enjoy the outdoors with Leave No Trace, take a climb with Fox Mountain Guides, meet renowned Appalachian photographer Tim Barnwell and learn about N.C. State Parks Junior Ranger Program.”

Sounds like a jam-packed four hours and a good opportunity for connecting kids to the outdoor and introducing more folks to public lands.

Logistics: Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock. There may be costs associated with some events. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 85, mostly sunny.

* * *

Looking ahead: If you’re the type that loves a good fireworks display, then think hard about the July 4 Independence Day Fireworks Hike to Sunset Mountain hosted by the Swannanoa Valley Museum. At 6 p.m., hikers will head out from Black Mountain on a “moderate one-mile hike” on the abandoned road that, a century ago, took travelers to Mount Mitchell. Then, catch the fireworks in the Swannanoa Valley below. More info: info@swannanoavalleymuseum.org; 828.669.9566; or at the Swannanoa Valley Museum website.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: Paddle a swamp or run through one, but be sure to Get Outdoors! appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

I wrote the following for both the Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer; it appeared in both papers on Tuesday, April 23. It appears here in updated form, with links. A story on Big Muddy participants Dave Case and his son, Owen, appeared in this space yesterday.

Adam Spisak thinks a good way to spend time with your kids is covered in mud.
Last fall, nearly 1,100 parents and their kids agreed.
That’s how many showed up for the inaugural Big Muddy Challenge, an obstacle race with a twist: It’s for families. Adult-oriented obstacle races – the Tough Mudder, Spartan and Rugged Maniac, to name three – have grown in popularity over the last three years. While some have separate kids’ courses, none were open to parent-kid teams, until last September’s Big Muddy Challenge.
Based on the success of that first race, held outside Raleigh, Spisak has turned last year’s hunch into a seven-race mid-Atlantic series in 2014, with two events in the Triangle and one near Charlotte.
The idea for the Big Muddy Challenge came to Spisak, who lives in Raleigh, in 2012. He had just completed an adult obstacle race, the Tough Mudder in South Carolina, and he envisioned someday sharing the experience with his newborn daughter, Margo. Trouble was, he couldn’t find a family-oriented obstacle race.
An obstacle race, with its emphasis on running through mud and water and getting dirty and climbing over and through stuff, seemed such a natural for a parent-kid combo. So he started putting together the Big Muddy Challenge.
“We planned for about 200,” Spisak says of the first event, “though I was secretly hoping for 500.” By race day last September, 1,092 parents and kids had registered.
“It was neat to see whole families competing together,” said Lynn Marotta of Raleigh, who competed with her 7-year-old son, Graye. “And the course was challenging without being too challenging.”
Spisak says the emphasis is on fun, not competition. That shows in the 12 obstacles he has planned for 2014 year’s first Big Muddy Challenge, Saturday in Youngsville. Obstacle No. 3, for instance, is called Chips and Dip. In about 10 inches of mud and water, says Spisak, family teams will need to find a specific combination of colored chips before they can proceed. At MudCasso, Obstacle No. 6, contestants will emerge from a soupy quagmire to draw a team portrait on a whiteboard.
“We’re expecting lots of family photo ops at that one,” says Spisak.
Family is the name of the Big Muddy game for the extended family of Andrea Norman of Huntersville.
“Let’s see,” she said, ticking off the roster for the June 28 Big Muddy Challenge in Weddington. “It’s me, my two sons, my sister her husband and their two kids, and my mom and dad.” Her mom, Sharon Norman, did one of the Spartan adventure races with Norman last year.
Based on participation in the first Big Muddy and early registration for this Saturday’s race (more than 1,200 had preregistered as of Monday — Spisak believes that number should top 1,500 by race time) — family adventure racing appears to strike a chord.
While family competition has been common to many 5K races and fun walks, Cynthia Edwards, professor of psychology at Meredith College in Raleigh, says there’s something different about this type of event.
A 5K, for instance, sends a good message about exercise and healthy living, says Edwards. Throw mud and water and a climbing rope into the mix, and the message expands.
“By watching their parents play, kids learn that life can be joyful,” says Edwards. “Playing teaches kids that parents are people, too. That life is fun.”
Getting muddy and being silly are especially important for budding adolescents about to discover that their parents aren’t perfect, she says. Working as a team, as equals, to accomplish a goal is also good, she adds.
That was one of the things Dave Case appreciated about last year’s race with his then 7-year-old son, Owen. “It was neat helping him through some of the things,” says Case, who lives in Apex. “And it was great to see his sense of accomplishment when we were done.”
There was another benefit for Dad. Two years ago, Case, who is 38, realized he’d become a couch potato. He enrolled in a three-day-a-week boot camp, lost 55 pounds and got turned on by his trainer to obstacle racing. Last year, he completed three Spartans, earning the Trifecta designation; this year he’s signed up for six and is going for a Double Trifecta.
“I can get competitive,” he says, “but all that was out the window with Owen. It was kind of a refreshing feeling, actually.”
Fun over competition isn’t the only difference between the Big Muddy and its adult counterparts. Bolting through live electrical wires (sizzling with up to 10,000 volts) and jumping through flames are signature obstacles for most adult races.
And the Big Muddy?
“No electricity,” says Spisak. “And no fire.”

* * *

The Big Muddy Challenge

Triangle race: Saturday, April 26, waves of racers will be sent out starting at 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Location: Hill Ridge Farms, Youngsville.

Cost: $78.01 per parent-child team. Additional charge for additional adults and children.

More info here.

Charlotte-area race: Saturday, June 28, at Hunter Farm in Weddington. Waves of racers will be sent out starting at 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Cost: $63.79 per parent-child team.

More info here.

A portion of proceeds from all Big Muddy Challenges benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters.

* * *
Muddy facts

• Course length: 2-2.5 miles, 12 obstacles
• Average. time to complete last year’s course: 47 minutes
• Minimum age allowed: 6
• Oldest 2013 competitor: 72
• Demographics: 57 percent of kid competitors in 2013 were male, 43 percent female.
• 12 percent of 2013 participants were on a team of 10 or more

The post A Muddy Good Time appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

In today’s North Carolina Observers (Charlotte and Raleigh) I have a story about the Big Muddy Challenge, an obstacle race for families started last year by Adam Spisak of Raleigh. Spisak started the race after looking around for an obstacle race he could someday do with his newborn daughter — and finding there were none. You can read that story here.

As is the case with most stories that need to fit in a finite space, there’s always a good story that gets left out. In this case, it’s the story of Dave Case, who did last year’s inaugural Big Muddy in Youngsville with his oldest son, Owen, who was 7 at the time. Case was an unlikely Big Muddy candidate in two regards.

The first requires taking us back to the Dave Case of two years ago. At that time, his story was a familiar one: active in high school and college, Case got married, started a business, had kids. Two years ago, at the age of 37, he realized he was woefully out of shape and overweight. (This despite owning a landscaping business that once kept Case in shape, but as it grew he found himself spending less time in the field, more time in the office and behind the wheel quoting and following up on jobs.)

So Case enrolled in boot camp, Chris Isotolp’s Isotolp Fitness in Apex. “I went three times a week, I followed their nutrition plan,” says Case. “And I lost a lot of weight.” Fifty-five pounds, according to the scale.

One day Isotolp told Case about about obstacle racing. “‘You should try it,’ he told me,” Case says.

Case did, and he became hooked. Last year, he participated in four Spartan races, one of the more prominent international obstacle races. That earned him Spartan’s coveted “Trifecta” designation. This year, he’s shooting for the “Double Trifecta,” by participating in six races, which will require him to travel as far as Southern California.

“I can get competitive,” he acknowledges.

Which brings us to the second curious thing about Case and the Big Muddy. Big Muddy deemphasizes the competitive aspect of racing; according to Spisak it’s more about families working and playing together. Which is fine with Trifecta Dave.

“My son saw my races and wanted to do the same things I was doing,” says Case. “With the Big Muddy, the difficulty level was just right for kids. It was neat helping him through some of the things and to see his sense of accomplishment when we were done.

“My competitiveness,” he adds, “that was all out the window. It was kind of a refreshing feeling, actually.”

So refreshing, that Case will be back at this Saturday’s Big Muddy Challenge, this time competing with Owen as well as son Andrew, who is six, and his wife, Rebecca.

For more information and to register for Saturday’s Big Muddy Challenge in Youngsville, for the June 28 race in Charlotte, or any of the other five races scheduled for this year, go here.

* * *

Update: Today’s story said more than 900 had registered for Saturday’s race; this morning, Spisak reports that number has topped 1,200.

The post Big Muddy, big fun appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Coast

My friend Jason did the Tough Mudder in Georgia earlier in the month and he did not take it lightly, training for the event by dedicating four months of his life to P90X. Surprisingly, though, not everyone approached the grueling event with the same dedication. “There were people who hadn’t trained at all,” Jason told me. It’s in that spirit of last-minute “What-the-hey” that we draw your attention to Saturday’s Combat Mud Run in Wilmington. The 5K course includes such obstacles as 4′, 6′ and 8′ walls, mud crawls, a mud walk, a swamp run, tire climb, culvert crawl and “fallen trees” (presumably not felled whilst you’re running beneath them) and a “Foot Long Bungee Hall Way Obstacle.”

Logistics: Saturday, April 27, 8 a.m., at the National Guard, 2412 Infantry Road, Wilmington. $65, $260 for a team of four. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Overcast, high of 73.

Piedmont

The bike tour season is kicking in: on tap this weekend, the East Wake Bicycle Tour. Sponsored by the Knightdale Kiwaniz Club, the tour includes 50K, 75K and 100K tours of eastern Wake County. I’ve done a couple of tours in eastern Wake and there’s a lot to recommend riding the area: it’s flat, there’s minimal traffic and bucolic terrain is a nice distraction as it begins to dawn on you that you are woefully ill-prepared for a long tour this early in the season.

Logistics: Saturday, April 27, commencing at 9 a.m. from Knightdale High. $35. More info here,
to register, go here.

Saturday forecast: Overcast, high of 70.

Mountains

In addition to being the start of the bike touring-riding season, it’s also the start of the paddling season. In the mountains, things kick off with Saturday’s French Broad Classique Canoe, Kayak and SUP Race. Saturday’s events include an 18-mile downriver race, a 4-mile stand up paddleboard race and a 50-mile test race. Sunday’s races include a 16-mile downriver race and an 8-mile family friendly fun race.

“Test race,” you ask? Check out the website to find out.

Logistics: Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28. For more specifics, check the website here.

Weekend forecast: Overcast with a 50 percent or greater chance for rain.

* * *

Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *
Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too
 

The post This weekend: Peddlers, paddlers, plodders appeared first on GetGoing NC!.